Diplomacy key in talks with Iran

The White House is determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Secretary John Kerry and his team are working around the clock to piece together an epic deal that would prevent such a catastrophe.

There is bipartisan, as well as international, support for this goal. The announcement by the negotiating parties of a four-month extension of the talks is a positive step toward a permanent resolution.

Friday's agreement between the P5+1 and Iran extends the interim deal that keeps Iranian nuclear assets frozen at current capacity. It halts all efforts at high-level enrichment and nuclear related construction. In exchange, Iran will gain access to $2.8 billion in assets that have been frozen in the U.S., while sanctions on oil sales and other major income areas are still in full force.

This makes sense, and represents an instructive moment in favor of the administration's policy of combined sanctions and diplomacy. Engaging with allies around the world, Americans secured unprecedented cooperation to pass and enforce the sanctions that got us to this point.

President Obama will not allow the Iranians to delay while enjoying the benefits of relief. Critics of an extension have reason to be skeptical, as Iran is notoriously deceptive about its intentions and its leaders historically disingenuous. However, since the negotiations began, the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran is following the rules. An extension of the interim deal that allows negotiations to continue is a win because it keeps Iran's weapons program on hold.

Diplomacy is a form of art: a careful balancing of political will, deterrence, credibility, and timing. The path to this moment has been long, and rounds of sanctions took years and an Iranian election to have their intended effect. Last year, Americans were stunned by the overwhelming turnout of moderate Iranians who voted for reformer Hassan Rouhani. The purpose of the sanctions was to pressure the government to change course; that is what brought a belligerent adversarial nation to the negotiating table. Americans should resist the urge to be impatient with results, and that goes double for Members of Congress.

While we watch in horror as rockets fly into Israel and the death toll in that conflict rises, Americans are reminded that war is costly. Our veterans know too well the aftermath of diving into war without giving diplomacy its best chance. America is still more than capable of tough, smart diplomacy that avoids real death and destruction.

I am too young to remember 1962, when the US and Soviet Union almost went to nuclear war over Cuba. But, patriotism was instilled in me as I grew up hearing the exhilarating story of why we didn't.

Rachel A. Streitfeld attends the University of Miami School of Law and is a partner with the Truman National Security Project in Washington, D. C.